It’s really great to meet people from all over the globe, we really do have wonderful guests. It’s always great to hear how people come across our tours, and we love reading all the lovely reviews we get. Anyway, one thing that we often get asked about is being a small family business, and the best way to support South Australian businesses. So here’s our list of reasons why it’s great to book direct with the small business that actually runs the tour!
- By booking direct, communication is SO MUCH easier for everyone. Often big travel sites have call centres in overseas countries, staffed by people that just don’t know our tours. We also often don’t get given details like clients email addresses, or maybe the heights and pick up locations you require. Whereas if you email or call us direct, chances are you will be talking to the actual person who will be running the tour!
Review sites such as TripAdvisor are great to get a better idea about if a tour or activity is really good or not. You mostly will get a really good idea what the actual trip is like, from someone who has done it. Believe me, it really does require someone to have had a REALLY GREAT or REALLY BAD experience to get them to leave a review. The top tip is always to read a few of the most recent reviews, then also have a look at any bad or negative reviews, as you can normally get a good idea from these if it was the client who had a wrong expectation of the trip or if it was the tour operator that was the problem- especially with any response the tour operator made! However the key is to still make sure you then find the businesses website direct and book there, rather than through any links, as then you will be booking direct rather than through a third party!
Local businesses HAVE to abide by local laws, and will have all the correct licences and accreditation, and memberships needed to operate. For example in South Australia we need to have transport accreditation to transport paying clients, and our vehicles need regular inspections, and our drivers have to have accreditation and police checks to drive. If your operator is just flying in and hiring a van from Avis or such to run a tour there is a pretty high chance they are operating illegally, and without the correct accreditation and public liability insurance. What happens if there is an accident? Why risk it?
As a Local South Australian business we also need licences to operate in areas such as being a Commercial Tour Operator for National Parks. This is really important and means that our tours and activities have been approved by National Parks to be sustainable and in keeping with their policies, which is a win for all.
You can be sure all the money you pay is going to local businesses. If you book though a travel agent or online website, they will be charging a commission, sometimes as high as 25% or more. Often we don’t get paid for the tour until 2 months after the tour happens. Whereas if you book direct we get all the money at the time of booking. Sometimes agents do offer special deals, and it is generally written into contracts that we can’t offer tours at a cheaper price on our website, however we will ALWAYS match or beat a price for our tour or a similar tour. This is why we created our ‘Best Price Guarantee’! Just drop us a line and we will beat the price, and you can still be sure all the money is staying in SA!
- As a small local business, you can be sure of a personalised experience- we only run small group experiences, so you WON’T be on a coach with 50 other people!
- As a local business, we know our state and region the best! We can also give you additional information about other great things to do in and around Adelaide, and we have great relationships with other similar small businesses. Here are just a few of the other businesses we love to work with,and all are small local SA businesses:-
- Taste the Barossa – Dallas, Nikki and their team run some great small group bus tours to the Barossa and elsewhere, if you want something a little more relaxing. A great family business!
- Off Piste 4WD tours – Ben runs some great 4WD trips around the Fleurieu peninsular, and as another National Parks CTO is able to take you to places in our National Parks that you can’t get even on an MTB!
- Pure SA – The guys at Pure SA run lots of different outdoor activities, mainly focusing on hiking, wildlife and marine adventures.
- Velomech – As well as being one of our MTB skills instructors (and one of the best trials riders in SA), Lindsey is a brilliant and reliable bike mechanic, and our no.1 person to help when I can’t fix things!
- Head for the Hills – Tyson runs some brilliant MTB coaching and instruction (almost as good as ours!) and we often work with him when we have bigger groups. A win win for all!
- Bikeabout – Jack has been running cycle trips for 20 years in SA. Now focusing on longer tours, especially up in the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, he is who we’d recommend if you want to do a longer bike wine tour in SA (although we’d always suggest doing our McLaren Vale bike wine tour as well!)
- Temptation Sailing – awesome dolphin cruises on a lovely Catamaran along the Glenelg shores
So, here is just a few ideas and suggestions why it’s always best to look out for a small tour operator, and if you can book direct! We hope to see you out on the trails soon!
Ian.